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Does the media put pressure on your body image and should there be laws to stop this?
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Me, personally, no. My aesthetic preferences have always been the same regardless of beauty trends over the years. I didn't want to be a size 0 in the 90s, I didn't jump on the big butt wagon in the last few years, and I don't even want to look strong.
There is media representation for several "looks". There is the model thin, the athletic, the curvy, the voluptuous, and even the plain fat, and every single one of them has fans and followers. I don't know what "the government" would be able to do about that. Outlaw representing the thin? Doesn't sound realistic or fair. Should media also stop representing the rich, the successful, the talented, the famous, the self confident...etc god forbid it hurts someone's self esteem? I believe there will always be some kind of social pressure for some kind of aspect, but I also believe most adults are reasonable enough to understand what is attainable and what isn't.4 -
Yes it does. Hollywood and music is a big part of culture and a great deal of people are enamored by them. It's especially true for women because there's this ideal that females need to look a certain way to be desired. Which is why there is so much marketed out there to "assist" women improve on themselves anyway they can. Make up, wrinkle creams, compression garments for the waist, etc. are all things that are directed toward women and not so much men.
And why do we do it? IMO, natural instinct. The more people that you can get to attracted to you, the higher the chances of companionship and finding a mate. That usually leads into having children and carrying on your genes.
And no, government doesn't need to be involved at all. People have the choice of how they want to look. That's what makes us different from other species. How we wear our clothes, hair, and choose how we want our body to look (to an extent), is what helps to define our own personalities and ideals.
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Change the channel. Your choice. You create your life.6
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Definitely no laws. It's a matter of opinion. And that would be crazy and disastrous. Because what would that mean? The media surely puts pressure on body image. But, making laws about that would not improve it. It would make it worse.1
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rankinsect wrote: »Short answer: No.
Long answer: Noooooooooooooooooo.
Strong Bad FTW!1 -
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I have to say this: any time I have ever felt bad about myself (weight, looks, etc) is because of a comment another person made to me directly. This is what affected my self esteem, and made me feel bad or not "good enough". I have rarely ever felt bad about myself because of an image I saw in the media or entertainment industry. I know I have always been able to compartmentalize that these images are altered, taken in the perfect lighting, and heck they are beautiful, that is why they are famous!5
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More laws!!! Seriously?
I'm outta here before I lose my kitten.3 -
Media puts pressure on my brain and gives me a headache.. I have netflix now and ignore all incoming news!1
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Can't pass a law for everything (we have way too many as it is). How would it even be enforceable. Media "pressure" is subjective. One person may view it as a negative (makes them feel bad), another views it as positive (motivates them to meet goals). A picture of a model might be gorgeous to one person, average to another, ugly to another. How would any such law work or be enforced?0
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I agree there is really no feasible law for this.
It is easy to say that the media forces things on society, but we forget that the media is controlled by society. Why don't they use "fat" models? Because historically it didn't sell well. As you see more and more body acceptance in society today, we are gradually seeing more and more different body types represented. Just let economics do its thing. Changes don't happen overnight.0 -
4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »I agree there is really no feasible law for this.
It is easy to say that the media forces things on society, but we forget that the media is controlled by society. Why don't they use "fat" models? Because historically it didn't sell well. As you see more and more body acceptance in society today, we are gradually seeing more and more different body types represented. Just let economics do its thing. Changes don't happen overnight.
I agree that there is no logical law, but that has never stopped legislators from catering to in uninformed masses. Any such law is unenforceable and therefore pointless, but would make for a great political platform and get a lot of do-gooders out to vote.
Media is not controlled by society. Media is controlled by an extremely concentrated group of people who push content that will drive the most attention & revenue.
Less regulation = better outcome1 -
Media is not controlled by society. Media is controlled by an extremely concentrated group of people who push content that will drive the most attention & revenue.
Society provides the attention and revenue. The concentrated group of people are just experts in what society wants to see and how to apply it to said product.
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Do what I, and many other awake folk have done... Quit watching TV. Problem. Solved.4
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France has banned excessively skinny models (less than BMI of 18) from modeling in 2015 - joining Israel, Spain and Italy. 6 months jail and around $100 000fine for the agency.1
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Yes it does.
No there shouldn't. Voting with your wallet is far more effective.3 -
Yes on the media, no on the law.
Frankly, I think the heart of the matter lies at the feet of the fashion industry and Hollywood. If you haven't read some of Tim Gunn's articles about plus sizes, it's worth your time.
But I don't think there's a way to legislate this.0 -
Yes, the media is guilty of this. No, there should be no law...2
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When young people from the prepubescent are bombarded by pictures of unhealthily thin people, giving the impression this is normal, it distorts their personal body image. Too often they are heard saying things like, I don't like my nose, my ears my eyes or I'm fat, what ever.
A recent transmission of UK's Women's Hour, reported the number of persons considering cosmetic interventions, because is where we are at risk of ending up, the number considering this is up by 47% in something like three years.
I think we are supposed to have a health weight policy for models over here.0 -
Whilst I would still stand by my earlier comments that there is no media (as a single entity, working towards a single goal) I would also point out that the pressure to be thinner, or aspire to some generic concept of health and beauty, does not seem to be creating a society of thin, generically healthy looking individuals.
Media pressure or not, the waistlines seem to be expanding.
It seems to me that people's eating, activity, and therefore body composition, is most strongly influenced by their peers and family.6 -
StealthHealth wrote: »Whilst I would still stand by my earlier comments that there is no media (as a single entity, working towards a single goal) I would also point out that the pressure to be thinner, or aspire to some generic concept of health and beauty, does not seem to be creating a society of thin, generically healthy looking individuals.
Media pressure or not, the waistlines seem to be expanding.
It seems to me that people's eating, activity, and therefore body composition, is most strongly influenced by their peers and family.
This. I'll buy that the media has any real influence when I start seeing more spiders and less People of Walmart.5 -
Waist lines have expanded with the availability of ready meals, low calorie meal options etc. I can't remember where I found this snippet, or the correlation drawn.0
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We will soon see the health consequences of ignoring health for the sake of feelings.5
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If I had a dollar for everyone who thinks thete ought to be a law against anything they don't like... I could buy a private island and not have to deal with controlling people ever again.6
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Nothing can "make" you feel anything. If you feel pressure, you've chosen to feel pressure.
This is Adulting 101.5 -
We will soon see the health consequences of ignoring health for the sake of feelings.
I see no evidence that anyone is actually ignoring health for the sake of feelings. Doctors still (properly) identify obesity/overweight as a health concern, and the government has had an ongoing effort to educate the public in eating less and moving more. I think people are more aware than being overweight is a health issue than when I was a kid (and far fewer people were overweight).
On the other hand, both then and now (at least in the circles I'm in) health is only a small part of why people don't want to be fat -- it's considered far preferable and more attractive to be thin (and I'm not objecting to this, I agree, which is why my preferred weight isn't simply within the healthy zone, but more like BMI 20-21, where I think I look better). That many people are overweight isn't because they no longer think being thin is preferable, at least not in the society I live in, it's because the environment makes it harder and they haven't adjusted/figured out how to stay a healthy weight despite this yet or simply because humans don't always choose long-term health or even other positive things when making a tradeoff.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »We will soon see the health consequences of ignoring health for the sake of feelings.
I see no evidence that anyone is actually ignoring health for the sake of feelings. Doctors still (properly) identify obesity/overweight as a health concern, and the government has had an ongoing effort to educate the public in eating less and moving more. I think people are more aware than being overweight is a health issue than when I was a kid (and far fewer people were overweight).
On the other hand, both then and now (at least in the circles I'm in) health is only a small part of why people don't want to be fat -- it's considered far preferable and more attractive to be thin (and I'm not objecting to this, I agree, which is why my preferred weight isn't simply within the healthy zone, but more like BMI 20-21, where I think I look better). That many people are overweight isn't because they no longer think being thin is preferable, at least not in the society I live in, it's because the environment makes it harder and they haven't adjusted/figured out how to stay a healthy weight despite this yet or simply because humans don't always choose long-term health or even other positive things when making a tradeoff.
I'm honestly not sure which is worse: preferences that induce horrible consequences, or ignorance in a time when the free flow of information has never been more available to the masses.1 -
xmichaelyx wrote: »Nothing can "make" you feel anything. If you feel pressure, you've chosen to feel pressure.
This is Adulting 101.
not really, although it's kind of o.t.
there's a test here in canada which is about what the 'reasonable person' would feel under a given set of circumstances. it's about deciding human-rights cases afaik, but the principle applies elsewhere as well. the basic idea is that if the 'reasonable person' would have a certain reaction, then you don't get to blow them off with 'just choosing to feel that way'.
no opinion about making laws. i think it would be in the public interest if people in their entirety were more accurately represented, but the global public interest isn't the only thing that law serves.
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